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Gaza
"Previously on the West Wing" spoken by C.J. A fact-finding tour to the hotly disputed Gaza Strip includes Donna, Admiral Fitzwallace and a few congressmen as they sort through the thicket of rival issues between the Palestinians and Israelis -- but the killing fields soon claim some of the delegation when a deadly bomb shatters their vehicle and has the President considering targets for military action. In flashbacks, Donna is attracted to a dashing photojournalist who opens her eyes to his graphic world of recording mankind's most heinous acts of violence. Summary Opening - Erez Checkpoint (The Visiting United States Congressional Delegation) In Gaza, Fitzwallace, Andy Wyatt, Congressmen Korb and Desantos are getting ready to move on to their next destination. Donna walks up and joins them. The get into the convoy and proceed off. Moments later, the convoy is rocked by an explosion, and we see Donna unconscious and bloody in the overturned Suburban. Act I - 7:31am Josh is on a plane and we see in flashback the events leading up to him being on the plane: In the White House, Toby and Josh are talking about Donna and Andy's activities on the codel. C.J. walks up and engages Toby in a conversation about procuring medicine from Canadian pharmacies. Will comes to Leo's office to talk about the Vice President's appearance at a fundraiser in New York City the previous evening. On the plane - Josh is looking over an email that Donna has sent him from Gaza - we hear Donna's voice reading the email. We then see the events that Donna narrates in the email. She is taking notes as the US members of the codel meet with Palestinian leaders. Colin Ayres, a Northern Irish photojournalist, comes over to introduce himself to Donna and asks her to meet him in the bar later. Donna asks Colin to take her out and show her "the Real Gaza." 8:17am - Day of the Explosion Josh and Kate walk into his office - they are talking about foreign affairs - when people begin running about. Josh and Kate's beepers go off, they walk out of his office and C.J. tells them there has been an explosion in Gaza with some fatalities. Toby walks into the White House, with a concerned look on his face. Act II In the bullpen, people are desperately trying to contact representatives of the codel. Carol yells that MSNBC has video and people begin to look up at the TVs. Toby's cellphone rings and it's Andy - she is alright, she was in the trailing car. C.J. announces that she sees Andy on the TV and they all look up. Andy confirms to Toby that Congressmen Desantos and Korb are dead and others were taken away in ambulances. Josh asks about Donna - but Andy doesn't know. In Leo's office, Kate has just delivered the news to Leo. Leo stands up and goes into the Oval Office to tell the President, that, in addition to the two Congressmen, Admiral Fitzwallace is also dead. Flashing back to earlier - Donna is talking with an Israeli family about life in the settlements. In his office Josh is on the phone trying to get information about Donna and is not getting any. In Toby's office, Will comes to see Toby, who is on the phone. He gets off the phone and tells Will that it was someone on the DNC asking about who to run for the two newly vacated seats in the House. Will tells Toby the Vice President would like to see an advance copy of the President's remarks, planned for that evening. Toby tells Will that it will likely not happen. In the Situation Room, the President walks in and is briefed on what happened. As they are discussing the situation - the President is informed that the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority is on the phone for the President. They take the call and Chairman Farad expresses the condolences of the Palestinian people and promises they will find the perpetrators. After hanging up, the consensus in the room is that Farad knows who did the bombing. After observing a moment of silence for the victims - the President directs the team to come up with a planned response, including military options. Act III Kate comes to see Leo, who asked for her - she is going to have to be the point person on the negotiations and conversations about dealing with the bombing. In the Briefing Room, C.J. is trying to tell the press about what they know, but the reporters are clamoring and shouting questions at her. C.J. loses her cool and yells at them to settle down. In Josh's office, he is on the phone with Donna's parents, telling them what he knows. In the Oval Office, the President is on the phone with Congressman Korb's widow. Josh walks into the Lobby and sees Will, then C.J., and finally Toby. He tells them about Donna's condition, which is serious. Outside the Oval Office, the Senior Staff discuss strategy and possible responses to what has happened. Earlier in Gaza, Donna is watching the tape left behind by a suicide bomber. The Senior Staff continue to talk, then Leo takes Josh aside and tells him that no one would blame him if he were somewhere else right now. Josh turns and rushes to his office, grabs his bag and leaves the White House. In Gaza, Colin introduces Donna to an Israeli soldier who explains how things are at the checkpoint and "business as usual" in Gaza. She leaves him and walks off to join the group before they get into the convoy. Josh is on a plane descending into Germany, (where Donna has been taken). Act IV The President enters the Situation Room and hears about the overnight developments. The FBI investigation team will arrive in Gaza shortly, Nancy McNally is leaving Venezuela, headed for the Middle East, and the Chairman has arrested people from a refugee camp in Gaza, though the Israelis believe those are not the people responsible. In Germany, Josh arrives at the military hospital and is told of Donna's condition by the surgeon who operated on her. The doctor tells Josh that he can see Donna. At the White House, the President sees Kate Harper in the Oval Office and compliments her on her work over the past day. He tells her to come with him and they get into a car together. They go to see Admiral Fitzwallace's widow to personally convey their condolences. At the White House, Leo is talking with C.J. about what happens next. He gets a call and learns that Israeli cruisers fired missiles into a house in Gaza in an attempt to kill a Hamas leader. While it's unclear if the leader was killed, 12 others were killed, including 4 children. In Germany, Josh sits by Donna's bedside. Trivia / Goofs *When Josh is shown on the plane reading his email from Donna, the words we hear her say in her voice over do not match up to the words she has already written. *Mrs. Fitzwallace is called Gail in this episode, but her husband referred to her as Laura in "The Dogs of War". http://www.tv.com/the-west-wing/gaza/episode/318336/summary.html *Before the explosion, Donna and Admiral Fitzwallace are seen boarding a 2000's-era Chevy Suburban but the interior shots show a late 90's Suburban and the Suburban that is bombed and ends up flipping over is the same late 90's Suburban. *Donna is on the same side of the road as which the bomb explodes on yet somehow survives the explosion Quotes :President Bartlet: I'd like to observe a moment of silence in commemoration of those dedicated individuals who gave their lives in the service of their country this day. :bow their heads in silence. Bartlet knocks once on the table before speaking. :President Bartlet: General, prepare contingency plans for retaliatory military action against Palestinian terror targets, including the Chairman's headquarters. :Kate Harper: There was a time when Palestinians and all Arabs wanted to drive Jews into the sea, but some would argue that time's past.... I'm not sure any credible Arab leader truly expects Israel's demise anymore, not even the Chairman.... Palestinians are no longer fighting to destroy the Jewish State. They're fighting for a state of their own, a revolutionary struggle against an occupying force and revolutionaries will outlast and out-die occupiers every time... :President Bartlet: So, let me sum up: we don't know who did this, or even if they meant to. We don't know how we'd hit them if we ever did find out who it was. We don't know who these guys were that the Chairman arrested or why. Is there anything, anything at all, that we do know? Cast Starring *Stockard Channing as Abigail Bartlet *Dulé Hill as Charlie Young *Allison Janney as C.J. Cregg *Joshua Malina as Will Bailey *Janel Moloney as Donna Moss *Richard Schiff as Toby Ziegler *John Spencer as Leo McGarry *Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman *and Martin Sheen as President Jed Bartlet Special Guest Stars *Mary McCormack as Kate Harper *Jason Isaacs as Colin Ayres *with John Amos as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace Guest Starring *Terry O'Quinn as General Nicholas Alexander *Kathleen York as Rep. Andy Wyatt *Ron Canada as Ted Barrow *Steve Ryan as Miles Hutchinson *Ryan Cutrona as George Sliger *Zach Cohen as Yossi *Tim Lounibos as Colonel Leahy *Makram J. Khoury as Chairman Nizar Farad (uncredited) (voice) Co-Starring *Melissa Fitzgerald as Carol Fitzpatrick *Kris Murphy as Katie Witt *Charles Noland as Steve *Tom W. Chick as Gordon *Keith Sellon-Wright as Congressman Thomas Korb *Traber Burns as Congressman Daniel DeSantos *Novella Nelson as Gail Fitzwallace *Elena K. Smith as Eliat Itzhaki *David Koff as Yoav Itzhaki *Anthony Batarse as Fatah Translator *Sayed Badreya as Fatah Official #2 *Ghassan Mashini as Fatah Official #1 *Sam Aylia Sako as Ashraf Murad *Ken Weiler as Military Aide *Remo J. Braydi as Backgammon Player *Zina Zaflow as Suicide Bomber *Kamel Haddad as CoDel Translator *Andrea Helene as Stewardess References "The West Wing" Gaza (2004) The West Wing: Gaza Category:Episodes Category:Season 5